Ever since Xu Zexi and Qi Lian met, Xu Zexi would always run into Qi Lian whenever he went out. Xu Zexi knew perfectly well that it was Qi Lian's doing, so he never went out alone.

Qi Lian's persistent entanglement, coupled with the Qi family's deliberate actions, led to rumors circulating that Qi Lian and Xu Zexi were dating.

Fortunately, Xu Zexi had the foresight to publish photos of the rescue in the newspaper. After the news spread, people learned the whole story. No matter how the Qi family tried to guide the narrative, everyone who heard about it scoffed at the incident, saying that it was morally reprehensible for the Qi family's daughter to still be thinking about the Xu family's child after being taken advantage of.

The three young men who saved her were quite interesting. They were already interested in Qi Lian, and while Qi Lian was scheming against Xu Zexi, they were also using their intelligence.

After a week of this incident, the Qi family had no choice but to choose the one with the best conditions from the three and arrange a marriage. They knew very well that if Qi Lian's marriage was not settled soon, it would be difficult for her to find someone else in the future.

Qi Lian was very dissatisfied. She went to find Xu Zexi several times, but she couldn't find him. She went to the Xu family, but Xu Laosan not only chased her around and tried to ruin her reputation, but she was also attacked by all kinds of insects. It has to be said that Xu Laosan's fighting power was really impressive. In addition, his good reputation also contributed greatly to the fact that the Qi family's scheme was broken so quickly by Xu Laosan's classmates from various villages.

With the help of the Shen family, Xu Yaoyang and Shen Can persevered for about ten days. On the second day after Qi Lian's engagement, they were forced to have their heads shaved in a yin-yang style and were paraded through the streets with signs around their necks.

Ever since they learned about Xu Yaoyang's situation, the Xu family has been paying close attention to it, fearing that someone with ulterior motives might use it to target Xu Yaozu.

The day before Xu Yaoyang and Shen Can were to be paraded through the streets, Lao Qian from the Public Security Bureau came to Xujia Village. He talked with Xu Yaozu and Xu Zexi in the study for a while and then went back without eating.

Then there was Xu Yaozu's comrade from the armed forces department, who also came and went in a hurry, as if a storm was about to break.

Sure enough, when Xu Yaoyang and Shen Can were parading through the streets, the relationship between Xu Yaoyang and Xu Yaozu was dug up from the crowd, and some people even fabricated a lot of stories out of thin air.

Fortunately, we were prepared. Another group of people in the crowd were talking about the grudges between the first and second branches of the Xu family, especially the second branch's abuse of Xu Mingyang, the story of forcing Xu Mingyang's nephew's lover to him, and Xu Yaoyang taking away the job that Xu Mingyang had worked so hard to get.

These stories are so relatable to ordinary people that they easily evoke empathy, so they quickly overshadowed the fabricated ones.

Then someone produced the newspaper article in which Old Master Xu had published his severance of ties with his relatives, and this time it was a decisive victory.

Fortunately, the Xu family reacted quickly this time; otherwise, Xu Yaozu would have been in real trouble.

Xu Yaozu used to believe that if you are upright, you have nothing to fear, but facts have proven that even the most upright person can be defeated by public opinion.

Xu Zexi deserves a lot of credit this time. He arranged almost everything. He knows Xu Yaozu's temper all too well. It's impossible to expect Xu Yaozu to handle these things on his own. He's a simple-minded person and would never think about how despicable the actions of a villain are.

In Xu Xinning's words, it's magic defeating magic.

Xu Zexi didn't know how his younger sister came up with such a brilliant conclusion, but it proved to be incredibly effective.

The two elders from the second wife's family only learned about Xu Yaoyang's incident on the second day. For their son's sake, they disregarded their reputation and came to the first wife's family for help.

The eldest son's family had long anticipated this, so Old Master Xu and his brothers, including Xu Yaozu, had already fled, leaving only Old Madam Xu and the third son at home.

Grandma Chen was worried that Grandma Xu was too weak, so after Grandpa Xu and the others went out, she came to the Xu family to keep Grandma Xu company. The two of them pickled vegetables and radishes together, and with Yao Dahai's help, they were not afraid of doing heavy work.

The two elders from the second wife's family were also flexible and adaptable. As soon as they arrived at the first wife's house, they burst into tears and showered the first wife with compliments as if they were free.

Without saying a word, Grandma Xu picked up the large broom by the wall and started swatting at the two old people.

Knowing that Old Mrs. Xu couldn't speak when she got angry, Old Mrs. Chen became Old Mrs. Xu's mouthpiece.

Grandma Xu brandished a large broom, and Grandma Chen began to berate her, "You shameless old folks! You've already severed ties, yet you still come to our door. I really don't know what your skin is made of. How can you eat one thing and then curse the next? There's a saying, 'If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too.' You two old folks have done so many bad things. Do you think you can raise your son well? You think you're so great? You've learned Chen Shimei's ways of abandoning his wife and child. Bah, you're getting your comeuppance now! Heaven is watching what people do. You shouldn't go against your conscience. It's come to this point, and it's no use asking anyone for help. If you really don't want your son to suffer more on the farm, sending him clothes, blankets, money, and other things might still be of some use. If you keep delaying like this, your son will either be exhausted or freeze to death if he doesn't bring anything with him."

Old Xu, the second son, seemed to have taken it to heart. Ignoring his weeping wife, he turned and left the Xu family's courtyard.

Old Man Xu agreed with Old Woman Chen. If there was no hope for Xu Yaoyang, sending more gifts would be the best course of action.

They don't know which farm they'll be sent to. If it's nearby, they can try to send some there later, but if it's far away, there's nothing they can do.

When Old Xu got home, he rummaged through drawers and cupboards looking for clothes and blankets.

He went to Xu Yaoyang's room and packed up all of Xu Yaoyang's clothes, but couldn't find a single blanket.

When Xu Yaoyang's wife, Xiang Wanqin, moved out after the divorce, she took all the quilts with her.

Old Xu went back to his room to look for one, but in those days, who had an extra quilt?

If they gave Xu Yaoyang the thick quilts from their room, what would they use to cover themselves with in winter?

Grandpa Xu found his military overcoat and some money; he needed to figure out how to get a quilt.

Xu Yaoyang is their only son in this family. How could Old Man Xu possibly watch his only son suffer?

When Old Mrs. Xu returned home, she saw Old Mr. Xu busy at work.

"Husband, what should we do? What should we do about my Yaoyang?" Old Mrs. Xu cried as she spoke.

"Cry, cry, cry! What else can you do besides cry? Hurry up and take the money to get Yaoyang a thicker quilt!" Old Xu roared.

"Where am I supposed to get this?" Old Mrs. Xu suddenly thought of her former daughter-in-law; when they moved out, they took the quilts from the house with them.

Old Mrs. Xu rushed out without taking any money.